"The Real" Wes Anderson
"The Real" Wes Anderson is an American professional wrestler that competed in the now defunct IWO in the late 90's and early 2000's. The Beginning Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Wes Anderson became known to his peers as the "sensitive tough guy". His reputation for never backing down from a fight was only matched by his reputation for his love of his family and childhood sweetheart, Tiana Brooks. After Wes graduated high school, he left Philadelphia with Tiana and moved to Canada to pursue training in professional wrestling. Schooled in Canada He enrolled in the Toronto School of Wrestling where he was quickly targeted as one of the top prospects in his class. His charisma, brashness, and in-ring skill caught his trainers attention. They began to book him in their local shows and he quickly became a fan favorite. After a year, he was regarded as one of the top two students in the school. The other student who he was often compared to was a local Canadian, named Shawn Williams, aka "Showtime". The trainers decided to test the two up and comers against each other in the ring and put them in the main event against each other at a local show. The match they put on exceeded expectations and they received a standing ovation after the match had ended. The two quickly became friends after the match and in the coming months formed a tag-team called "The Youngbloods". During a local show in the summer of 1997, the Youngbloods had a match with an up an coming tag-team in the school. The match went down as one of the best in the school's history. It so happened a representative from an American wrestling promotion entitled the "Apacolypse Wrestling Association" was in attendance and loved what he saw. He made an offer to the two students that they could not refuse and within 30 days, they were packed a moved to North Carolina, USA. The AWA "The Real" Wes Anderson debuted in his first professional wrestling match as a tag team parter to "Showtime" Shawn Williams as the tag team, "The Youngbloods". The team became instant fan favorites as they captured the AWA tag-team titles in only 1 month. The Youngbloods carried the gold for 4 months until during a title defense, Shawn Williams was injured. Their opponents used the injury to their advantage and were able to isolate Wes Anderson in what became somewhat of a handi-cap match. Anderson fought valiantly to hold on to the titles, but the two on one odds was too much to overcome. After the match, it was revealed that Shawn Williams injury would require him to be out of action for nearly a year. With that news, Williams, decided to return to Canada to heal, and Wes Anderson would continue on solo. Rise of "The Real" Wes Anderson's professional solo career started off with a bang, as he received much respect for his effort in the last tag-title match, he was awarded a shot at the AWA Internet title (The company's second most coveted championship). After a tough match, Anderson pulls off what many considered an upset and became the Internet champion. He would have several feuds in the next year and in that time he would lose the internet title and regain it 2 more times. He receives word from his former parnter, Shawn Williams, that he will remain in Canada after he heals completely to pursue other interests there. Wes Anderson wishes his friend well and continues his rise to the top of the AWA. Nearly a year and a half into his tenure in the AWA, and now a solid fan favorite, Wes Anderson is drawing attention from many different wrestling organizations around the country. He initially turns down offers from the IWO, FWO, and CSWA organizations (which 99% of all other wrestlers in the AWA would have jumped at) to continue his pursuit of the AWA World Title. He refused to sign a contract extension until he was guaranteed a world title shot. This tactic worked and Wes Anderson was given a title shot in a 5-way match that he won. Wes Anderson had achieved a milestone in his career...he was a world champion. Unfortunately, he would not be able to defend that title as the AWA filed for bankruptcy just a week after the event. There would be no AWA events for 9 months until the financial matters cleared up for AWA. During this time period, Wes Anderson made a return trip to Canada to visit friends, but eventually moved permanently back to Philadelphia with his long time girlfriend, whom he also married in this time period. The AWA would soon return, and have their return PPV, and called it was named Resurrection. By the time of the rebirth of the AWA, Wes Anderson's previous one year contract had expired and a new deal with the company was in the works, but constant proposals from the IWO and CSWA were making Anderson's decision a tough one. Still with no contract finalized, Wes did not compete at the Resurrection PPV, but agreed to defend his AWA world title against number one contender, Vampslyr, just two weeks after the event on the AWA weekly broadcast. The fans who saw that match were treated to a great match, but a surprise ending, as Vampslyr came away with the upset victory and became the new AWA world champion. It was announced less than 24 hours after the match, that Wes Anderson would be leaving the AWA to accept the offer from the largest wrestling promotion on the planet at the time, the IWO. There was controversy involving his last match in the AWA as many fans believe that if Anderson had given his best effort, he would have beaten Vampslyr. Some believe he did not want to disrespect the AWA by taking their title to another company. They say he wanted to make Vampslyr look good because he wanted the AWA to succeed because he loved everyone there. Anderson has denied that rumor and has always claimed that Vampslyr was one of his toughest he ever faced. IWO/IML 48 hours after the announcement that "The Real" Wes Anderson had left the AWA, a stretch limousine was sent to his home in Philadelphia to pick him up and take him to the Internet Wrestling Organization world headquarters to finalize the deal of a lifetime. "The Real" had a sit down discussion with IWO founder and president, Jamie Kosoy, himeself. Wes Anderson was excited at the opportunity but surprised to find out that he was not being offered an IWO contract...at least yet. He was informed that the IWO was developing a new league, that would be ranked just under the IWO, and would be called the IML (IWO Minor League). Anderson was wary of the deal at first, but at the same time was honored he was hand selected to be one of the original participants in this new organization. It did not take long for Anderson to agree to the deal since being in the IML would still be way more money and exposure than he ever got in the AWA. Once Anderson began his IML career, he noticed the difference in competition immediately as the people he faced were much tougher and smarter than anyone he had faced before. "The Real" knew he had to up his game on every level. Although he had many doubters that he would succeed at this level, Wes Anderson proved them all wrong by putting on some the most memorable performances of his career. One of the most notable feuds of Anderson's career was a short but memorable feud with another original IML member and later, IWO legend, High Flyer, who was in the early stages of his career at the time. The days of the IML seemed to resemble the days of the AWA completely. Wes Anderson would become a fan favorite in the IML, and in just over 12 months, he captured the IML World Title. Anderson would hold on the title for 3 months before losing it, but he would not get a chance to attempt to reclaim the title because shortly after he received a call from the IWO office and was informed he was moving up to the IWO. Anderson would join the ranks of the IWO with other legends such as ?¿? (The Mysterious One), Phelen Kell, Ken War, Tony Davis, and many others. Wes Anderson felt he had reached another pinnacle as being a part of the IWO meant that he was recognized as being of the best in the world at what he did. Unfortunately, We Anderson's career in the IWO was not a long one. After being in the IWO for only 3 months, Anderson suffered a severe injury that would sideline him for several months. During his time off, Anderson realized he had a growing desire to be closer to his family, and to make sure he saw his two children grow up. The tedious schedule of the IWO, and the wear and tear of wrestling on his body was making that very difficult. After a long and hard time of thinking, Anderson called Jamie Kosoy to let him know that he would not be returning to the ring anytime soon. The IWO president was sympathetic to Anderson's situation and allowed him out of his contract. It was bitter sweet as Anderosn loved what he did in the ring, but wanted to make sure he was around for his family more than anything. Today Wes Anderson does not at all regret his decision to leave the squared circle. He is a successful business owner and investor and is still happily married to his wife Tiana, and has two boys, living in Southern, New Jersey, just outside of where he grew up in Philadelphia. Anderson still watches and follows the sport closely and fans still recognize him. He occasionally does step into the ring to do local charity events, and is still approached by various independent and national organizations around the country who are interested in acquiring him to their roster. Wes Anderson has never ruled out a full-time return to the ring, but he knows that timing is everything. And right now, the time is about his family. He will return to the ring full-time when and IF...the time is right. Category:Wrestlers